Cashing the Reality Cheque with Mayfair Lady
A powerful aspect of any art is being able to peer into the artist’s soul. Yes there’s talent, technique, ability, all the requirements that help somebody become a good artist, but a good artist also makes art that can be appreciated on many levels. Inspired by very real emotions, Mayfair Lady finally releases her latest single ‘Reality Check’ after five years.
The London-based Mayfair Lady has been performing live for many years. Indeed the first videos on her YouTube channel go back to 2017 of playing at The Spice Of Life and Tramp Members Club, both a stone’s throw from Mayfair. In addition to writing and performing piano for most of her life, Mayfair Lady also has a Masters in Songwriting. Since the pandemic, she has been streaming her show ‘Saturday Night Live With Mayfair Lady’ and more recently the ‘Mayfair Lady Show’, both on YouTube, with the latter a current Friday night fixture. Her debut single, ‘If I Got Rich’ was released at the end of November 2020.
If I Got Rich begins with soft piano playing and a distant pitch-shifted vocal. You’d be wrong if you thought this would be a piano ballad as a hard drum sound kicks in, particularly I love the depth of the bass drum. Usually in a beat, the bass drum would be second to the dominant sound of the snare, but here it’s the other way round, the bass leads over the snare drum.
The production here is shared between Mayfair Lady and Balance Records’ Alejandro Palada. The chorus of ‘If I Got Rich, would you be my bitch? And stick with me forever through thick and thin,’ has this deep bass synth beneath it that has the rasp of a brass section. Later on it sounds like Mayfair Lady is using an actual brass section, as well as orchestral percussion like timpani for those crescendo moments. That final section of ‘Gotta get rich, gotta get rich’ gets better every time I hear it, with the huge sound of a James Bond theme reaching its climax. I’d go as far as saying that Mayfair Lady has the capacity to pull off such a weighty responsibility of a James Bond theme in her songwriting, production and vocal delivery.
Alejandro also contributes guitar to If I Got Rich, as seen in the music video directed by Anna Giulia Scrufari Hedges. Mayfair Lady lives out two personas in the narrative set in a deserted London town, or perhaps it is the past/present and the future? It goes between ‘normal’ life, and then a ‘richer’ life, the latter is particularly decadent and fully worthy of the title Mayfair Lady.
‘Reality Check’ has a different flavour from Mayfair Lady’s first single. The tone is more serious from the very beginning, featuring a simple piano accompaniment with Mayfair Lady’s bare vocal. Between this and If I Got Rich, it shows the range in Mayfair Lady’s writing, from the empowering and casual, to the anthemic and emotional. The lyrical content of Reality Check is best described by the Lady herself:
‘Reality Check is about a dark time in my life, when I struggled with an eating disorder, partying too much and filling the void of my loneliness by doing the wrong things with the wrong people. Deep down I knew this lifestyle only fed more into my sorrow, but I kept on going. I felt like I was living in a sad movie and I needed to come back to reality.’
And the emotion is well executed in the production, again with Alejandro Palada. As the track progresses, more assertive programmed drums are added, as well as strings, plus multiple vocal layers. Mayfair Lady combines her lyrics with a vocal delivery that keeps the pace interesting and diverse across the track, sometimes stretching out notes, and others almost rapping with the speed at which she produces the words.
If you listen closely, you’ll hear acoustic guitar picking individual notes, which later evolves into electric guitar. For the conclusion of Reality Check, there is a gorgeous piano and string outro, fading on the last string chord. It’s hard to believe that so much emotion and musical exploration can exist in a traditional radio-length song, but Mayfair Lady has done it.
Continue reading for our Q&A with Mayfair Lady, who discusses Reality Check in more detail, as well as the video for If I Got Rich. We go further back to her musical roots, her favourite live performances, and what the rest of 2021 looks like in the world of Mayfair Lady.
1. It took five years, but your new single 'Reality Check' is finally here. Five years is a long time! What was the process of getting the track to this level?
It is and I am so glad the time has finally come to release ’Reality Check’!
I wrote it 5 years ago when I was going through a rough patch in my life. I’m in a much better place now and although many years have passed, it remains one of my personal favourites. I have a strong emotional connection to it and for this reason, ‘Reality Check’ was always destined to be among my first few releases.
I thought I would release music much sooner than I have, but I've always found the idea of putting music out into the world quite daunting. I originally planned to release Reality Check when I was 21, but I was not satisfied with the product I had; though I had recorded and produced the song 3 different times. I had neither the team nor the confidence to take the big step and share my music publicly.
However, a big game-changer for me was finally finding the right people, who believed in me and my music. Thanks to my loving partner and manager as well as my dear friend Fabio D’Andrea, an award-winning composer, I met and started working with Alejandro Palada, who has since become my producer and a great friend. He has years of experience and is just amazing at what he does. I am learning a lot from him.
Another game-changer was meeting Dr Isobel Anderson, who was my university tutor during my MA degree studies. Isobel runs a brilliant online academy, teaching female musicians various recording and production skills, which helped boost my confidence in music tech and got me started recording demos for my songs.
2. Are the orchestral parts in this track live? The sound is amazing!
Yes, they are! And thank you - I am glad you find the sound amazing.
As a classically-trained pianist and a daughter of classical music and opera enthusiasts, I grew up surrounded by classical music.
I've always loved the sound and feel of strings, orchestral drums and grand piano, and wanted to incorporate them into my songs. Though some may argue that an electronic production might suit my style of writing better, I believe that the live element in the production of 'Reality Check' is responsible for the grand, cinematic feel of the song. I love the energy and power that it radiates. My main goal as a singer-songwriter, when producing my songs, is to make people feel like they’re in a movie. If I can evoke that feeling in my listeners then I consider myself a happy artist.
3. The video for 'If I Got Rich' has a lot of shots of deserted London, but where were those studio shots done?
We filmed the music video in summer 2020, when restrictions from the first national lockdown were being lifted. We started filming at 4am and finished at 9am on a Sunday, which is how we managed to get the 'deserted London' shots. There was a lot of meticulous planning involved.
The studio scenes were filmed at The Old Hit Factory - a legendary studio where I've met and worked with Alejandro for the past year and a half. We've since moved to a different studio which is more suitable for recording orchestral instruments and has a grand piano - a big bonus, for me.
4. Could fans expect a video for 'Reality Check' too?
Absolutely! The release of the song will be followed up with a music video. Similarly to the song, the video was filmed a few years ago but has remained unreleased. It was shot in Moscow, with the help of my older sister Anna Giulia, who was working in the Russian film industry, at the time.
Anna Giulia created the concept of the video and put the team together for it. Her input in this project has been invaluable and I am very grateful. I can’t wait to showcase the result of her hard work to the audience.
5. Going further back, when did you start playing piano and singing? At what point did you start writing your own songs?
I started playing at the age of three. I have a vivid recollection of my three-year-old self sitting on a stool, feet dangling from it, playing with the piano keys. I likely got attracted to the piano as both my siblings were taking lessons, at the time. I remember my mom at the back of the room, making a phone call - I believe she phoned the piano teacher and booked me a lesson for the following week. I haven’t stopped since! I started writing songs when I was 11 years old, and to this day I’ve probably written over 100. Now it is time to share the best ones with my fans and continue writing new songs.
6. Who knows when people will be gigging again. What's the best gig you've ever played?
I do miss the stage a lot. It’s my favourite place - fingers crossed I can go back very soon.
I have many memorable performances. I enjoyed playing at the Lights of Soho Art gallery, which had so much character, and all my performances there were intimate and with a great crowd. I also loved playing at Tramp - it was always a good party after the show. I had the pleasure of performing at The Dorchester Hotel at a private party. I had a white grand piano placed in the middle of the room especially for me to play.
However, my most memorable performance was at the Royal Academy of Arts, where I got a chance to play one of the most unique instruments in the world - a Steinway grand, by Michael Parekowhai. It is a 'functional sculpture' with carved wood, ivory, ebony and mother of pearl elements and took over 10 years to create. It was a real honour and an unforgettable experience.
7. You've just started streaming your own gigs live on Friday nights, where are these streamed from?
From my living room in East London, where I am currently living with my partner. I plan on continuing with ‘‘The Mayfair Lady Show’’ every week, doing the traditional live streams, with music and virtual guests, as well as the vlog-style videos which will shed some light on my creative process. I think that my fans are interested in what goes on behind the scenes and I want to share my journey from the start so that we can aim for that Grammy award together.
8. You've covered a few Lana Del Rey songs - if you had to pick a favourite album of hers, which would it be and why?
I am eagerly awaiting her new album "Chemtrails Over The Country Club" - which promises to be an amazing one! My fans know that I am a huge admirer of Lana’s music. She is undoubtedly my favourite artist out there.
Out of all her brilliant work, I have to choose "Born to Die" - her first album, as my favourite. It contains most of my favourite songs that have also influenced my songwriting - ‘‘National Anthem’’, ‘‘Off to The Races’’, and ‘‘Young and Beautiful’’- to name a few.
I also love how Lana was influenced and inspired by Vladimir Nabokov’s novel ‘’Lolita’'. You can clearly see it in this album (which also contains a song named ‘‘Lolita’’), and a few of her earlier unreleased songs.
I researched this in-depth for an assignment during my MA degree and found it fascinating. I read the novel and also found inspiration for one of my songs: ‘‘Sugar Paradise’’ - which I aim to release in the future as part of a concept album.
9. With the subject matter of 'Reality Check' being so personal to you, what's your message to people going through something similar?
Reality Check is about that moment of realisation, when we are ready to admit to ourselves that something within us is wrong.
Personally, writing this song set me on a journey into recovery. I tried to represent that in the production of the song too.
It starts in a very dark place and has an even darker middle section but towards the bridge and final chorus it leaves space for a more positive and uplifting vibe, with an almost soothing outro section.
We all have our internal conflicts and struggles. However, we can't solve them unless we acknowledge their existence and are willing to address them.
Recognising there is a problem is the first step towards recovery. It's ok not to be OK.
10. What's next for Mayfair Lady? Are there more singles for 2021?
I am setting myself targets and deadlines so that after ‘‘Reality Check’’ I can release another four songs in 2021. It will be a lot of hard work for me and my team, but I am up for the challenge and excited about it.
In the current pandemic times, when working from home has become the new norm, I am really happy to have my music career goals to keep me motivated and super busy. Getting up at 4am and going to bed at midnight to get all of the work done is not an issue for me - I love what I do and I am a firm believer that hard work and dedication always pay off in the long run.
--------
Mayfair Lady’s music is available to download and stream in all the usual places.
For more information about Mayfair Lady, visit her official website here.
Follow Mayfair Lady on Instagram and Facebook @mayfairladyofficial.
--------
Follow and interact with Moths and Giraffes on Instagram and Facebook @mothsandgiraffes, and on Twitter @mothsgiraffes.
To apply to appear on Moths and Giraffes for yourself or on behalf of an artist, or if you’d just like to send us your thoughts, don’t hesitate to contact us via our social media accounts, our contact page, or via email at mothsandgiraffes@outlook.com. We receive a lot of emails though, so please bear with us!
